Well, it was time to go gift shopping, and Santa Maria Novella is the perfect spot to find treasures from a company that is more than 800 years old.

I know, fabulous….right!

I couldn’t resist this limited edition doggie bowl for Kita the Akita!

Fill er up!

Lovely Marguerite invited me to lunch and it was memorable!

There are so many treasures in her home one could spend a week enjoying them all but this guest bedroom was my favorite as it reminded me of Monet’s home in Giverny where I fell in love with his bed & the dreamy duvet!

Lunch was lovely…

You want this stove…

There’s the most charming terrace that wraps around the unit.

Sunday’s ‘Salon on the Spiritually Creative Life’ that Wondrous Carol Soucek King has held for 27 years was as marvelous as ever, with the theme being ‘Kindness.’ The Main presentation, Honoring Military Spouses and the League of Wives Memorial Project, was so interesting. Guest speakers, Sculptor extraordinaire Christopher Slatoff and Elizabeth Pollnow, showed us the progress on their public memorial to be placed in Coronado, California. This photo was taken when Christopher and Elizabeth (front left) were with the military wives.

The program was moderated by documentary cinematographer Curtis McElhinney as they discussed their work on the first memorial to honor military spouses.

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Sculptor Patricia Ferber, the Salon’s Poet Laureate, read her poem on Kindness.

Kindness should come easy if one walks with a loving heart.

Kindness allows one to have compassion for those that have not.

The windows of life should remain open bringing in the light,

to help us travel our destiny and not lose sight.

Kindness should come easily as an appendage of one’s body,

like a gentle wave in the ocean, a cloud passing by.

Kindness means understanding in all that surrounds us, from a spider or a flower to an individual in pain.

Kindness should be easy and given with loving thoughts.

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Followed by an interesting discussion with Nino Wong, Chairman of Huntington’s Chinese Garden Docents, and Lynne Velling, Communications coach. Bravo all!

Lovely Carol is so very kind to treat her ‘Salon Stars’ to a feast at El Portal after the Salon.

Thank you for the precious bear Sweet Patricia…I love it!!!

Thank you dear Peggy for planning such a lovely welcoming luncheon for Valentine, Ruth Ann, and me.

I’m still enjoying the flowers.

Thank you thoughtful Veronica for getting me my very own Shohei Ohtani ornament!

So much fun celebrating Lovely Marine’s birthday!

But wait…there’s more birthdays! A fun time at the Smokehouse celebrating Awesome Carol, Veronica, and June!

Joycie and Patricia…Sweetness overload!

How adorable are my precious neighbors, dear Emilia & David!

Back to work…We had a wonderful Brush painting class in the studio; even with six last-minute cancellations due to the weather, illness & an accident, we had twelve eager students anxious to learn the wonderful technique of Brush painting! We covered two subjects which is a lot for one class. First was the Poppy, and after lunch, the Peony. Everyone did beautifully!

O.K., everyone, the storm was here, I trust you stayed dry and safe!